Golf putter



April 17, 1 928. 1,666,174

' E. R. HOLLAND GOLF PUTTER Filed March '17, 1927 F'IEIE 1 E INVENTOR E/mer E. f/o/land Patented Apr. 17, 1928.

UNITED STATES 1,666,174 PATENT OFFICE.

ELMER R. HOLLAND, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.-

Application filed March 17, 1927. Serial No. 175,988.

This invention relates generally to golf clubs employed for putting or holing out a golf ball. It is an object of this invention to dev se a golf putter which will be universal in ts application and will give greater accuracy in putting.

It is a further object of this invention to devise a golf putter which is provided with a marking band or insert which will aid in accurately stroking the ball.

It is a further object of this invention to devise a golf putter having its weight distributed in such a manner that inaccuracies due to striking a ball improperly, will be' minimized.

The further objects of this invention will appear from the following description 1n which I have set forth the preferred embodiv ment of my invention. It is to be understood that the appended claims are to be accorded a range of equivalents consistent with the state of the prior art.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view showing a golf putter incorporating the principles of this invention.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the putter as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the putter.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 44 of Fig. 3.

The particular construction which has been illustrated comprises a head lO'made of suitable material, such as aluminum, having a shank 11 formed integral therewith to which is secured the usual shaft 12. This head is provided with the usual planor striking face 13. The sole or bottom surface 14 differs from the bottom surfaces of ordinary golf putters in that it is curved convex ly, in other words it is curved in the direction of the plane of striking face 13. This curvature is clearly shown in Fig. 1 and is arranged sothat when the putter is used on level ground with an average angle of lie, the bottom surface will contact along a line substantially medial with the striking face.

The heel 16 of the head is likewise curved convexly and this curve merges with the curved bottom 14. The function of this curved bottom surface is to make it possible to use the club for playing a ball from either a sloping or a hanging lie. In other words by virtue of the curved bottom, the slope of the ground will not cause a poor shot due to i I distribute it in such dragging of either the toe or heel of the club.

Another feature of this invention is a device arranged upon the u head to aid in striking t e ball at the center of percussion, which is substantially the medial point of the striking face. This means is preferably in the form of a marking band which extends rearwardly of the medial portion of the striking face. For example this band may be formed by an insert 17 which is dis osed within a recess 18. This insert is pre erably at least as narrow as the diameter of a standard golf ball and is colored to contrast with the color of the club head. When the head is made of aluminum, the insert may be made black in color, and for example may be constructed of black wood or of a phenolic condensate product.

Instead of concentrating the weighting mass at a single point in the club head, as is common with other forms of golf putters, a way that if the ball is not struck at the center of the striking face the ball will still roll with a fair degree of accuracy. Thus along the rear side of the head there are a plurality of recesses 19, one of which is arranged directly behind the center of the striking-face and two of which are spaced upon either side of the central recess. These recesses are filled with suitable weighting material 20 such as lead. Another set of spaced recesses'21 are rovided along the bottom face 14, one of t ese latter recesses bein in alinement with the medial portion of tie striking face and the other two being spaced upon either side of the central recess. These latter recesses are likewise filled with weighting masses 22. As has been previously explained the function of the distributed weights is to prevent great inaccuracies when the ball is not struck at the center of the striking face. For example if the ball is struck near the toe of the head, the outer weights will be substantially behind the ball so that the head will not tend to twist in a clockwise direction. The same holds true if the ball is struck near the heel of the head.

I claim:

1. A golf putter comprising a head of aluminum having a strlking face and a bulged rear side, an insert in the to of the head, said insert extending rearwar ly from the medial portion of the striking face, said head having a bottom surface curved in the direction of the striking face, said head also per surface of the Q memes having a, plurality of wei hting masses disrecesses dis osed at spaced points along the tributed at spaced points a ong the rear edge rear side 0 the head and spaced apart sub-- 10 of the head and along the bottom surface. stantially the same distance as said first 2. A golf putter comprising a head of named recesses, and weighting material 5 aluminum having a striking face, a bulged within said recesses.

rear side and a sole, said head having a plu- In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set rality of recesses dis osed at spaced points my hand. along the sole of the ead, a like number of ELMER R. HOLLAND. 

